1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to electronic circuits, and more particularly, to voltage regulators.
2. Description of the Related Art
Voltage regulators are well known in the art of electronics. A voltage regulator is a circuit configured to maintain an output voltage provided to other circuits within a given range (e.g., ±10%). A circuit receiving a supply voltage via a voltage regulator may be referred to as a load. In various implementations, voltage regulators may provide a supply voltage to one or more loads.
A typical voltage regulator may include a feedback path. Changes to the amount of current drawn by the one or more coupled loads may cause changes to the output voltage provided by a voltage regulator. The change in the output voltage may be reflected in a feedback path. The voltage regulator may respond to the output voltage change by adjusting the output voltage back toward a nominal value and thus within the specified range.
Voltage regulators may be defined by a number of different parameters. Voltage regulation may be defined by load regulation and input regulation. Load regulation reflects a change in the output voltage of the voltage regulator based on a corresponding change in the load current. Line regulation reflects the amount of change of the voltage regulator output voltage responsive to an input voltage. Additional parameters include dropout voltage (minimum difference between the input and output voltages at which a specified current can be supplied), transient response (the ability of the voltage regulator to respond to sudden changes in load current) and so forth.